All posts by richardhoeg@gmail.com

Doctor’s Visit Great Gray Owl

Year 11

I was distracted on New Year’s Eve Day on the way to and from some medical appointments yesterday. Three different Great Gray Owls decided I should take some time out and enjoy nature … one in the morning a few minutes before sunrise, and then two owls in the afternoon.

The first owl was quite concerned about some crows, but not about me or any of the cars rushing by on the highway. I definitely was NOT in a normal birding location while watching the first Great Gray Owl (video link for email subscribers).

Great Gray Owl #1 (in the morning just before sunrise … watching crows)

Great Gray Owls #2 (after my medical appointments)

Listen and Learn Birding: Spotted Towhee!

Year 11

Given I live in northeastern Minnesota, I rarely see towhees. Just a few minutes yesterday morning before I took the video included with this post, I watched another towhee and listened to its call. Minutes later I heard the same call, and found this individual! Don’t forget that the Merlin App (my review), which is from the Cornell School of Ornithology, is also a great tool in that it will help you learn bird songs.

Anyhow, I learned one the call of the Spotted Towhee, then heard another and these images and video were the result (video link for email subscribers)

The other bird of the day for me was what most folks out here would consider common, a slate colored junco (dark-eyed junco). However, even though the “scientific powers that be” in the birding world do not consider this Oregon junco variant a different species, browse to this post to view just how different the plumage is for this western junco (same species) as my local Minnesota bird.

Slate-Colored Junco – Oregon Plumage

All the photographs in today’s post were taken during drizzle conditions yesterday. While being out in the rain might not see like much fun, if one can keep the drab sky out of photographs, colors are often very intense on wet days.

4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Barn Owls & a Partridge in a Pear Tree!

Year 11

What’s better than one Barn Owl in a barn? Two Barn Owls in a barn! Seen and photographed yesterday afternoon while visiting my son Erik and his wife for Christmas! Better yet, for the first time in years Molly (my wife) came birding with me and she also got to see the loving couple (the owls, not Erik and Katie)!

I owe a HUGE thanks to Seattle area wildlife artist, Ed Newbold, who helped this kid from northeastern Minnesota where barn owls do not live, see one of nature’s special Christmas gifts, the Barn Owls. Browse on over to Ed’s web site, He also has a “physical” store at the entrance to Pike Place Market.

A few comments before the images … no flash photography was used inside the barn. The walls have large holes which allow natural light to invade. In addition, notice the owls are sleeping. The birds never flushed and flew. Finally, the difference in colors between images is caused by the dramatically changing lighting conditions. At times the sun broke through the clouds and entered the barn, while at other times it got quite dark inside.

And Barn Owls … the Movie! (ZZZzzzz sleeping birds … video link for email subscribers)